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Sustainable use of pesticides
The EU’s sustainable use of pesticides policy is built on Directive 2009/128/EC. Its purpose is to reduce the risks and impacts of pesticide use on human health and the environment, while promoting Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and alternative approaches, including non-chemical methods. It is part of the broader EU pesticides framework and also supports the pesticide-risk and pesticide-use reduction goals linked to the Farm to Fork Strategy.
With the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the policy requires all professional users to apply low-pesticide-input pest management principles. In practice, this means pesticides should be used within a broader strategy that gives priority to prevention, monitoring, and alternative control methods wherever possible, instead of relying on routine chemical treatment.
Under Main Actions, the policy requires measures on training for users, advisers and distributors, inspection of pesticide application equipment, the prohibition of aerial spraying, limitations on pesticide use in sensitive areas, and information and awareness-raising on pesticide risks. Member States must also promote IPM according to the general principles laid down in Annex III of the Directive.
National Action Plans. Each Member State must set out how it will implement the Directive through national measures and targets. This is a central operational feature of the policy: the EU establishes the common framework, while national authorities are responsible for translating it into practical action.
With the Evaluation and Impact Assessment, the EU has reviewed how the Directive works in practice and assessed options for possible revision under its Better Regulation approach. This reflects the fact that sustainable pesticide use is treated as an evolving policy area, subject to review and possible tightening over time.
Implementation is monitored through periodic reporting, including a first report from October 2017 and a second report from May 2020 on Member States’ National Action Plans and progress in applying the Directive. This gives the policy a built-in review mechanism rather than leaving implementation entirely to national discretion.
Under Search Member States’ Information, the policy provides access to national sources on sustainable pesticide use, reflecting its two-level structure: common EU rules combined with country-level implementation.
More recent developments include updated Harmonised Risk Indicators, progress reporting on Farm to Fork pesticide targets, and the 27 March 2024 withdrawal of the proposed Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products. That proposal, adopted on 22 June 2022, would have replaced the Directive with a directly applicable Regulation and introduced an EU-wide target to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030. Since it was withdrawn, Directive 2009/128/EC remains in force.
With the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the policy requires all professional users to apply low-pesticide-input pest management principles. In practice, this means pesticides should be used within a broader strategy that gives priority to prevention, monitoring, and alternative control methods wherever possible, instead of relying on routine chemical treatment.
Under Main Actions, the policy requires measures on training for users, advisers and distributors, inspection of pesticide application equipment, the prohibition of aerial spraying, limitations on pesticide use in sensitive areas, and information and awareness-raising on pesticide risks. Member States must also promote IPM according to the general principles laid down in Annex III of the Directive.
National Action Plans. Each Member State must set out how it will implement the Directive through national measures and targets. This is a central operational feature of the policy: the EU establishes the common framework, while national authorities are responsible for translating it into practical action.
With the Evaluation and Impact Assessment, the EU has reviewed how the Directive works in practice and assessed options for possible revision under its Better Regulation approach. This reflects the fact that sustainable pesticide use is treated as an evolving policy area, subject to review and possible tightening over time.
Implementation is monitored through periodic reporting, including a first report from October 2017 and a second report from May 2020 on Member States’ National Action Plans and progress in applying the Directive. This gives the policy a built-in review mechanism rather than leaving implementation entirely to national discretion.
Under Search Member States’ Information, the policy provides access to national sources on sustainable pesticide use, reflecting its two-level structure: common EU rules combined with country-level implementation.
More recent developments include updated Harmonised Risk Indicators, progress reporting on Farm to Fork pesticide targets, and the 27 March 2024 withdrawal of the proposed Regulation on the sustainable use of plant protection products. That proposal, adopted on 22 June 2022, would have replaced the Directive with a directly applicable Regulation and introduced an EU-wide target to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50% by 2030. Since it was withdrawn, Directive 2009/128/EC remains in force.
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